The Raven
by Millennium Slinky
Summary: Pretend that just after Matthias cut down the Joseph Bell, suddenly, inexplicably, all the animals simply disappeared. So here's Redwall abbey, several centuries later...
1. Prologue

Right, in case you just picked a random story and have no clue what this is, here's a longer summary:  
  
Pretend for a moment that just after Matthias, champion of Redwall, cut down the Joseph Bell to crush Cluny the Scourge beneath, there was a gap in time. Suddenly, inexplicably, all the animals, all the hordebeasts, all the mice of Redwall simply disappeared. Here we are, several centuries later.  
  
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The raven circles in the air above the forest, swooping gracefully over the treetops, blue-black feathers gleaming in the pale sunlight.  
  
It glides slowly downwards, finally breaking through the trees and into a clearing. The bird alights upon a small block of red sandstone and cocks its glossy head, black eyes glittering inquisitively at the scene ahead.  
  
The highest point, higher even than the surrounding trees, is the tip of a bell tower. The red material is worn and cracked in places, yet still it stands. The bell that should have hung there, visible in the window at the top, is no longer there. Its resting place is at the bottom of the tower, far below, where it lies split in two for all eternity.  
  
Far from the tower is a long, crumpled pile of sandstone, the remains of the wall, the wall that was built to protect the buildings within. The great wooden gate lies rotting on the road, the sandstone arch where it belongs in ruins, next to the small, collapsed structure that once was the gatehouse.  
  
The main building was large, of majestic shape and design. Now it is nothing but a skeleton of its former self, the many windows dark and empty, the shingles of the roof falling off in some places. Ivy clings close to the walls, wrapping the structure in its loving embrace, green strands twined around corners and through cracks.  
  
Once there were windows of colored glass, below the eaves of the roof. Now shattered, shards of the rainbow scattered in the emerald-green, untended grass.  
  
The group of trees and grass in the middle of the grounds was once an orchard. Long ago the plants were meek and carefully kept. Now the saplings grow tall and strong, bearing fruit that is never picked, but falls roting to the ground. The prized strawberries grow wild, tangled vines wrapping around the bases of the trees.  
  
There used to be a pond to the left of the orchard, sparkling blue in the clear spring sunlight. Now it is dull, green and gloomy, choked by the waterweeds that grow thick around its edge. No fish swim there - there is only a skeleton, the skeleton of a grayling, resting on the pebbled bottom forevermore.  
  
The raven glides slowly towards the roof of the main building, pecks experimentally at the creepers of ivy, stares in fascination at the colored glass. Then, without a second thought, it takes flight and sets off into the cloudless sky.  
  
Leaving Redwall Abbey behind it.  
  
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Review!! I don't know how many people actually read Redwall stuff, but hey, I can dream, can't I? 


	2. Chapter 1

The Raven  
  
For my 6 reviewers from Chapter 1 (wow, six reviews for the first chapter!!)-  
  
Vane: I've made a career out of being creepy...XD Thank you for inspiring me to write more!  
  
GriffinFire: You KNOW I have a strange mind!! You live with me!!  
  
a random guy: I'm glad I've made you think...sometimes I don't think at all...in fact I can go for days without thinking... *trails off*  
  
Zlost: I just love writing about ruined stuff. I guess that's what happens if you're bored in the middle of class... *whistles innocently* Really, there are only 700 Redwall stories? Wow. *blinks* The idea for the raven thing is just that I've had an obsession for the phrase 'The Raven' ever since I read the poem.  
  
insert catchy name here: Okay, I'll call you 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidosius!' Or 'Spork!'  
  
clara200: Yeah, it's supposed to be sad. ;_; Sometimes I make myself cry with all the angst I write...  
  
*****  
  
And if anybody ever bothers to read author's notes, then here's the two - well, there's three if you count the raven - characters featured in this chapter.  
  
1) Turksha Dandrinel. Male. Red squirrel. Weapons: throwing stars (steel shurikens). Basically a creature that is supposed to be good acting as a bad guy.  
  
2) Sparhawk Kirr. Female. Pine marten. Weapons: sword. A typical 'vermin' creature acting the nice, kind, happy-go-lucky adventurer.  
  
I have a fetish for weird names. ^.^;; But anyway...I'll be changing POV's, flipping back and forth. Turk and Sparhawk won't meet each other for a while.  
  
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Turksha was a warrior.  
  
He lived by himself, roaming through the old, tangled trees of Mossflower Woods. No other creature abode there. He was alone, and he liked it like that.  
  
Truth be told, there were no animals anywhere in the entire Mossflower region. Something had happened, too long ago for anybeast to remember, that had caused the disappearance of the Redwall mice and the horde of Cluny the Scourge. But they were all gone now, and that was all that mattered.  
  
Turksha perched precariously on the highest limb of the great oak in which he'd made his temporary home, sniffing the air. He flicked a loose leaf irritably away from himself with his busy red tail. Yes, Turksha was a squirrel.  
  
He was also not the nicest creature living in the woods. Death on paws to those who trespassed on his territory. He feared other creatures, and so he killed them before they could kill him.  
  
Somewhat strange for a red squirrel. He polished his throwing stars lovingly. Shining steel, sharpened to fine points.  
  
The raven watched him for a while, then took off and soared into the sky.  
  
*****  
  
Sparhawk's family had lived by the river for as long as she could remember. Pine martens were usually treated with mistrust, but the few other creatures that lived in the region - a scattering of voles and shrews - didn't bother them.  
  
But this time Sparhawk had had enough. Life was too...dull. She needed an adventure. And had found one.  
  
The family of pine martens had only one thing of value in their home - a sword, a beautiful sword. Supposedly Sparhawk's great-great-great- grandsire had taken it from a one-eyed rat after passing through Mossflower Woods. Supposedly it was of great value, and had been associated with Redwall Abbey, that long-ago haven in the midst of the wilds.  
  
Sparhawk had always wanted to see what Redwall really looked like, and the food was reputed to be excellent. So late that night, she had snuck the sword and a map out of the house. She would have to follow the river for a while, then turn west and go through Mossflower.  
  
And so she left, not noticing the black bird that was following her.  
  
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So, there's the two - three! - characters. Any questions? Leave it in your review. ^_~ 


	3. Chapter 2

The Raven  
  
A BIG HUG to Acoustical Ferret (Zlost, right?) for all your ideas. THANK YOU!!!! *glomps* I shall elaborate upon the 'raven' concept - after torturing the xenophobic squirrel, of course. *evil grin*  
  
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Turksha went back to the abbey grounds the next morning to replenish his stock of fruit. Hazelnuts and chestnuts were easily found, but things like strawberries and pears thrived only in the place that had once been an orchard.  
  
The squirrel made his way towards the crumbled wall. Before scanning the wide, overgrown grounds for possible hazards, he pulled out his throwing stars. One could never be too careful.  
  
A blue-black bird circled overhead. He stiffened, muscles tensing, and stood stock-still, tail quivering. There was something odd about that creature - he could've sworn he saw it somewhere...somewhere before. In his dreams there had been that ominous, dark shape...  
  
He slunk carefully through the long grass and unkempt bushes, going slowly. If there was an enemy here, he could take no chance at all of being seen. He was afraid, and had always been afraid. He didn't know why, but -  
  
A sudden snapping of brittle tree branches cracked through the silence of the ruins like a gunshot. Turk nearly jumped five feet into the air in shock, but he kept it inside. No need to go losing his head over something that could have been caused naturally.  
  
It was when it happened again that he ran.  
  
*****  
  
Here was a section of the ruins he had never seen before - a small part of the largest building was still standing...sort of. A fragment of a wall was still stubbornly standing, barely taller than the squirrel himself. And there were faint markings - markings scratched into the walls.  
  
Turksha didn't know how to read. But still...the scratch-marks looked vaguely like some form of writing. He laid a paw upon the carvings. The words had somehow been filled in with ink so that they stood out bold and black against the stone. A few colored threads clung to a metal bar further up the wall.  
  
What had it been?  
  
Suddenly he felt dizzy - there was a whirling, whirling blackness...  
  
He saw the building as it must have been ages and ages ago - still standing. There were beautiful, stained-glass windows near the top. All made of stone. And he saw the same piece of stone, as it once had been...but this time, it was different.  
  
There was a tapestry, a ripped tapestry. And an old mouse dressed in a green habit, tracing his frail paws over the letters that Turksha could not read.  
  
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Woo!! Hopefully new chapter in a week or so - my Yu-gi-oh muses are still on strike, so this leaves my Harry Potter ficcy and this...  
  
REVIEW!! Remember, short chapters mean MORE chapters!! 


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